Burial caskets traditionally comprise a shell to which is pivoted a cap or lid. During viewing of the deceased in the casket, the cap is of course pivoted to its open position to permit relatives, loved ones, acquaintances and the like to view the deceased. During this time the underside of the casket cap is visible. It is thus desirable to trim the underside of the cap with decorative trim. This has been traditionally accomplished with the installation of a dish assembly into the underside of the cap.
The traditional dish assembly has taken the form of a rectangular cap panel having two long sides and two short sides, with a puffing board or panel or member being attached to each of the four sides with staples. The puffing boards, typically fabricated of a relatively stiff yet flexible substrate such as chipboard, are covered with decorative fabric. The cap panel is positioned in the casket cap atop a standoff, itself positioned in the cap, or atop a ridge or groove forming a part of the cap. The free edges of the puffing members are retained in a peripheral groove in the casket cap near the peripheral edge of the cap. The puffing members are so sized as to require them to assume a convex quarter-round shape for their free edges to be retained in the peripheral groove. A rectangular cap panel insert, including decorative embroidery or the like, may be removably installed between the four puffing members and in juxtaposition relative to the cap panel. Various means may be provided to secure the cap panel insert into the dish assembly.
Miter corners are formed at adjacent ends of the puffing members. The miter corners may either be formed by simply overlapping the adjacent puffing member ends or by stapling the adjacent ends together.
In corners formed by overlapping, the top, or overlapped, puffing member, the end edge of which is arcuately shaped such that when flexed into a convex quarter-round shape the edge forms an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the cap panel corner, relies on its corresponding underlying puffing member for support. The underlying puffing member has no independent means of support, but rather, relies solely on the compression of the puffing member as it is being maintained in its respective grooves to maintain its convex shape. The underlying puffing member extends a short distance beyond the line where it is contacted by the overlying puffing member arcuate end edge, i.e. by some amount beyond a curve generated by reflecting the arcuate end edge of the overlying puffing member about a 45 degree line extending from the cap panel corner and projecting it onto the underlying puffing member when the dish blank is in the flat or unconstructed state, sufficient to provide for overlapping, thereby providing a neat, aesthetically pleasing miter corner with no gap thereat.
Thus, while the overlapped miter corner presents an aesthetically pleasing gap-free miter during normal use, should the underlying puffing member be inadvertently pressed or crushed during handling, the overlap miter corner opens up creating an unsightly gap at that corner. One example of overlapped miter corners is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,316,608.
In miter corners where the adjacent puffing ends are stapled together, both of the adjacent puffing ends include a series of tabs which are formed along an arc. The tabs are scored at their bases to allow the tabs to bend relative to the balance of the puffing member. Staples secure corresponding ones of the tabs of adjacent abutted puffing member ends together. Cut outs between adjacent tabs allow the ends of the puffing members to form into a convex shape at the miter corners. The arc of the tabs of each puffing end is formed such that when flexed into a convex quarter-round shape the adjacent abutted puffing ends form a miter corner of 45 degrees with respect to the cap panel corner.
While this type of puffing miter corner provides a level of strength not obtainable by overlapped miter corners, the disadvantage is that some gaps often appear in the miter corner due to the nature of the abutted and stapled construction; thus the staples securing the adjacent puffing member ends together are often visible through the miter corner thus presenting an unsightly appearance. One example of stapled miter corners is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,964,824.
It is therefore one objective of the present invention to provide a stronger puffing assembly corner construction than is achievable with the use of overlapped miter corners.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a puffing assembly corner construction where the staples securing the adjacent ends of the puffing members together are not visible through the miter corner.
It is yet another objective of the present invention to provide an aesthetically pleasing puffing assembly miter corner construction.
It is still another objective of the present invention to provide a strong puffing assembly miter corner construction.
It is a further objective of the present invention to provide a puffing assembly miter corner construction which combines the superior aesthetics of the overlapped miter corner with the superior strength of the stapled miter corner.